Todd Kenreck: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes introduces the Oblex. It is a terrifying monster that is now one of my favorites in the D&D multiverse and is the brainchild of one very imaginative boy. There's a new type of creature in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, the Oblex. How did they come about and what different types are there?
Jeremy Crawford: While we were working on Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, we had a special visitor. Nolan Whale, a boy who's a part of the Make-A-Wish program, his wish was to spend the day with us working on D&D. We were delighted and honored to say yes to that and to have him spend the day with members of our team, working on various things, concepting various things. One of the bits that arose from that day with Nolan was this monster, the Oblex. Nolan had this idea of this creature that was the result of Mind Flayer experiments on oozes. Mind Flayers of course are responsible for many sins in the D&D multiverse. I mean, they are in some ways one of our worst villain groups because of all of the harm they have done to other peoples, to various species in the different worlds. D&D history is littered with the evil of Mind Flayers. Now, we get to add something to their list, the Oblex.
They manipulate oozes to create these creatures, the Oblex, that can absorb the memories of other beings and not just the thoughts. Once they've absorbed those memories from someone, they can then create a duplicate of that person tethered to a essentially this umbilical cord of ooze behind them. An adult or Elder Oblex can actually carry within itself basically the memories of a host of people and cause versions of those people to pop up. I'm imagining once a group encounters several of these people formed by an Oblex, they're going to start having paranoia in future campaigns and often want to look behind NPCs they're talking to to see is there sort of a slimy umbilical cord attached to them in back to see if they're actually a Oblex.
We also in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes talk about the younger Oblex Spawn. They are the result of actually an older Oblex being so filled up with people that essentially the memories sort of blorp out of the larger ooze and then start creating these smaller ones. It's really some fabulous horror movie kind of stuff, of these oozes that go around and steal people. It's very kind of invasion of the body snatchers-esque, and then can haunt communities with memories of these people in physical form. I think they're going to be some really dark tales that people will be able to tell in their adventures using this Oblex, thanks to Nolan.
This is awesome! Definitely looking forward to making my players paranoid around every NPC they meet.
Oh my deity! Npc's just got a whole lot more untrustworthy. Thanks Nolan for adding another level of paranoia to campaigns everywhere. Cheers
+1 Would put in story.
This is, oh god I'm gonna have with this. What I think I actually liked about this the most is that it came from a kids wish to do this and, hay, his idea actually became a thing. I can honestly just imagine years from now Nolan sitting at a table as the NPC they trusted so dearly is secretly an Oblex, and even thought he's partly devastated partly nervous, deep down he's smiling that this was his creation.
Gaaaa I could have used this so well like a month ago :)
Soon...very soon...
I have a campaign where I use a staff to steal memories, but the Oblex idea is much better and I wish I had thought of it. Nice job Nolan! Know that you have inspired nightmares for thousands of future players, which is really the sort of thing that makes DM's smile.
This is a cool addition to spawn distrust among player characters.
Way to go DUDE!! Awesome design cannot wait to use it.
Nolan, I hope you are reading this. This is now one of my favorite monsters, up there with the gnolls (they are way underused.) I just LOVE making players paranoid. This will make a great first impression on them. I am just imagining them speaking to a prisoner of the drow in the Underdark, when they see a cord attached to their back. Great Job!
Wow Nolan, you do have a sick imagination!!! I hope you create more monsters, because seriously, this concept is GREAT. I love it!!
Without seeing the Statblock... I'd Maybe make this creepier if the "Mass" itself could go invisible and hide the tendrils that link it too the bodies it spawns. I could imagine an entire Village being consumed by it and used to draw in adventurers.... which it uses... and let's go. Sometimes drawing a Retiring Adventurer into it's tendrils and consuming their memories so it can use the experience and knowledge they had.
Very Nice.. and Creepy Idea.
Dang, Nolan, that is messed up. I love it! So going to use this monster!
The party I was in went up against this thing last night. It nearly TPKed us... Only two of six players succeeded on their saving throws, leaving four of us entranced by shimmering lights above our heads. Fantastic monster concept!
These things are killer. Got the new book and immediately rolled out an oblex in a ToA dungeon. Creeeeeepy.
Anybody else notice that this thing is eerily similar to the Blood Marmalade from James Introcaso's "Design Workshop: Monsters"?
I love everything about this creature and Nolan for creating such a memoriable baddie.
I think I'd like to meet this Nolan--after checking for any spare cords, of course.
radical
Ah man, i fought one of these